OXNARD : Plane Theft Suspects Plead Not Guilty
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Two Oxnard men charged with stealing an airplane from Oxnard Airport last month and using it for a one-hour joy ride through Ventura County skies pleaded not guilty in Ventura County Superior Court Monday.
An Oct. 19 trial date was set for Steven Michael Valenti, 30, and Barton Dean Harvey, 31.
The suspects, arrested in the Santa Clara River bottom Aug. 27 after landing the plane safely, each face up to four years in prison if convicted.
Both are charged with the operation and unauthorized taking of an aircraft.
Harvey is free on $5,000 bail. Valenti, whose bail was also set at $5,000, is being held in the Ventura County Jail.
The California Department of Corrections has issued an order to hold Valenti because of a 1983 conviction for a similar offense in which he stole an airplane from the Oxnard Airport and buzzed Ventura’s Pierpont neighborhood.
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